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Equality NYFebruary 19, 2007While nearly 90 percent of voters made their decisions a full two months before Election Day, the poll provided solid evidence that Arizona Together effectively targeted the remaining 10 percent of the electorate. It proved to be the critical difference. Seventy-nine percent of voters knew the amendment dealt with marriage, but 59 percent also knew it would "take away" domestic partnership benefits provided by local governments. The latter had the highest correlation with the vote. [Link]

NJVoices.comFebruary 18, 2008For too many families across New Jersey, the warning of former New Jersey Chief Justice Deborah Poritz has proven prophetic. "What we name things matters, language matters," she wrote in her dissent in the 2006 Supreme Court decision that led to civil unions rather than marriage for same-sex couples. "By excluding same-sex couples from civil marriage, the state declares that it is legitimate to differentiate between their commitments and the commitments of heterosexual couples."[link]

Philadelphia InquirerFebruary 18, 2008A New Jersey commission has found in an initial report that civil unions - approved a year ago in an attempt to ensure equal rights for same-sex couples - are falling short of the goal. It said that employers were still discriminating against those in same-sex relationships and that civil unions were "not clear to the general public, which creates a second-class status." [link]

AdvocateFebruary 15, 2008"It is indeed symbolic that this vote comes as the 11th annual National Freedom to Marry Week comes to a close," Equal Rights Washington's Connie Watts said in a statement. "Equal Rights Washington and the prime sponsors of the Domestic Partnership Expansion Bill have been clear and unequivocal in stating that we are seeking full marriage equality for families formed by gay and lesbian couples." [link]

The Bay Area Reporter February 14, 2008In all, over 20 California cities and counties, including seven of the 10 largest cities in California, signed onto this amicus brief. In recognition of Freedom to Marry Week, Marriage Equality USA is featuring this cities and counties' amicus brief, along with an amicus brief filed by Professor M.V. Lee Badgett and senior research fellow Gary Gates, which analyzes U.S. Census data on same-sex couples in California. In partnership with the Bay Area Reporter, MEUSA is highlighting each of the 30 amicus "friend of the court" briefs submitted by hundreds of supportive organizations, professional associations, and religious institutions filed before the California Supreme Court in favor of same-sex couples' freedom to marry. [Link]

Manitowoc Herald TimesFebruary 13, 2008When Judy Stock is offered the chance to kiss her bride in a few weeks, she's going for it. Under the Canadian sky she'll stand, hand-in-hand with Leigh Robert, ready to validate the union the two formed 15 years ago. But why Canada? The answer is simple: It's legal. Unable to wed lawfully in Wisconsin, the women plan to hold an additional ceremony in April at a Sheboygan County church. But they're not willing to let the state hold them back from a white wedding. [link]

ReutersFebruary 13, 2008The trajectory of the battle for gay rights from Milk's era to today was on the minds of the movie extras for "Milk." If the upcoming California court ruling legalizes gay and lesbian couples' marriages, many supporters will see it as an epic victory and the climax of the work that Milk began. [Link]

Think ProgressFebruary 12, 2008During his controversial speech at New England prep school Choate Rosemary Hall yesterday, former Bush adviser Karl Rove was challenged by a student “to explain how giving gay people the right to marry would endanger other people.” Rove dodged answering her at first, saying that the issue “should be resolved by a legislature or a referendum, not a court.” But the student, Choate senior Marla Spivak, continued to press him. [Link]

Denver PostFebruary 12, 2008The first legal challenge to Colorado’s anti-marriage constitutional amendment goes to court Wednesday, with the goal of unraveling Amendment 43, which voters passed in 2006. The main legal case is misdemeanor trespassing: Catherine Burns and Sheila Schroeder, a lesbian couple from Englewood, went to the Denver Clerk and Recorder’s Office on Sept. 24 to get a marriage license. [Link]